FeedbackDear Editor,Your magazine is quite informative. Some articles really helped me solve problems I face in my studies. Even the comic strips on page 15 are very funny. Your magazine is the best magazine in my opinion. Amna Naveed, KarachiHello Editor,Muhammad Arshad is truly an inspiring figure! Really enjoyed reading the cover story Muhammad Arshad: a person, an institution .Sometimes, we are so engrossed and lost in our own worlds that we don’t notice the good things around us. We do say we want to help others, give back to the society and make this world a better place but we are never able to figure out how we can do that. As a...

Why your grumpy teenager doesn’t want to talk to youMost parents have seen their teenager start the day in a reasonably good mood, but then return from school draped in gloom and chilly silence. As hard as it can be to support our children when they tell us what’s wrong, it’s that much harder to help the obviously upset adolescent who turns down a warm invitation to talk.
These interactions usually unfold in an awkward and predictable sequence. We earnestly ask, “Is everything OK?” and our teenager responds with a full stop “No,” an insincere “Yeah,” or freezes us out while fielding a flurry of texts. We then tend to...

GOLD
A community laughter club, somewhere in Karachi; Tuesday, 11:15 PM“Well gentlemen, here’s the thing, you are a few months into your marriage, and one day your beautiful wife is gonna come to you with that classic ‘Devdaas’ face and say:“Promise me one thing.”You’ll be like, “Sure, anything.”“Never, ever lie to me.”“Of course honey, anything for you”....... And that’s the first time you’ll lie to her.”Clifton Housing Society, Karachi; half an hour later“Riddle me this,” my mother finally exploded, “You’re a bright kid; you’ve got 92% in your F.Sc exams. So - ”“So I’ll be violating...

SILVER
“All that glitters is not gold”, “beauty is only skin-deep” are statements I find ironic since I grew up in a society where people judge others on the basis of their physique and skin colour. With flawed thinking, we expect others to be “flawless” and “perfect”. I wish a lawsuit against ‘judging’ others could be filed.” She scribbled her heart out in the journal and kept it aside.********She was 12 years old when the white, flesh-like patches started to appear on one side of her face. It started off with a white spot and grew into a patch affecting other areas, too. The patches seemed to elongate with time...

BRONZE
The phone beeps. Rida wishes it to be from her husband informing her that he would bring the dinner, so she doesn’t have to worry about cooking. Instead, the message says: Usman’s taking us out for dinner. Would be late. Do eat something.Rida fights the urge to sleep on an empty stomach. She had nothing but a slice of bread in the morning. She stands in front of the dressing table and touches her jaw. Then, she moves her hand across her waist and gasps. She calls her favourite restaurant and places her order for a small Zinger and fries, along with Coke. Rida collapses on her huge woollen sofa placed in the corner of the...

EXPERIENCEMost people struggle with their studies and career choices, nothing novel about it. I also struggled to reach where I am today. Looking back, I cannot help but feel that I wish I knew back then, what I know now.My name is Alia. I was lanky little girl, adored by daddy the most. My mom was a housewife and had her hands full, raising five children, which she did with great devotion. There was something special about mom. Thinking about her takes me back in time ...
“Alia! Come and get ready for school this instant!” she would shout, running after me with the hairbrush in her hand. “Why do I have to go to school? I...

Poems foreverOn ShakespeareWhat needs my Shakespeare, for his honoured bones,The labour of an age in piled stones?Or that his hollowed relics should be hidUnder a stary-pointing pyramid?Dear son of Memory, great heir of Fame,What need’st thou such weak witness of thy name?Thou, in our wonder and astonishment,Hast built thyself a livelong monument.For whilst, to the shame of slow-endeavouring art,Thy easy numbers flow, and that each heartHath, from the leaves of thy unvalued book,Those Delphic lines with deep impression took;Then thou, our fancy of itself bereaving,Dost make us marble, with too much conceiving;And, so sepulchred, in such...

I want a grand weddingDear Guru,I am a 20-year-old college going girl. I am a B.A final student in a reputed college. I am engaged to be married to my cousin in three months’ time. I belong to a middle class, but educated family. My father is a professor in a college whereas my mom teaches in a school. We have our own house and a flat so as such there are no financial problems. I have two elder sisters who are happily married. My problem is that only three months are left to my marriage and we haven’t done any preparations. Actually, my parents spent all their savings on my sisters’ weddings. They had such lavish weddings but now...

Signs you’re getting oldYou and your teeth don’t sleep together.You try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren’t wearing any.
Your back goes out but you stay home.It takes two tries to get up from the couch.When happy hour is a nap.When you’re on vacation and your energy runs out before your money does.When you say something to your kids that your mother said to you and you always hated it.When all you want for your birthday is to not be reminded of your age.When you step off a curb and look down one more time to make sure the street is still there.Your idea of weightlifting is standing up.Your...